What Are the Names of Some Famous Landslides?

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Two famous landslides were the Heart Mountain Landslide and The Storegga Slide. The Heart Mountain Landslide occurred in Northwestern Wyoming, and the Storegga Slide occurred off the coast of Southwestern Norway.

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The Heart Mountain Landslide happened roughly 50 million years ago. It was such a large landslide that evidence of its occurrence still exists today. The most notable piece of evidence is Heart Mountain, which is an enormous block of limestone that sits on unreformed rocks from the Eocene age. This landslide was caused by a piece of limestone that was 400 square miles in area. The large slab of limestone fell and slid down a low angled hill, breaking into many smaller pieces on the way. Fifty million years later, over 100 pieces of the limestone slab can still be seen.

The Storegga Slide landslide occurred roughly 8,200 years ago. It was a submarine landslide, meaning it transported sediment across the continental shelf and into the deep ocean. This particular submarine landslide moved between 600 and 840 cubic feet of sediment. The resulting water disturbance was so great that it caused a tsunami that hit the west coast of Norway. The Storeggo Slide occurred soon after glacial melting had left the continental shelf full of extra sediment. The movement of the sediment could have been caused by an earthquake, although the exact cause is unknown.